Lately, I've totally revamped my mornings. After listening to one expert after another talk about the benefits of waking up early and tackling what's really important to you, I'm now doing just that--and it's changing everything.

Getting up early has never been *too* much of a problem for me. I'm not a "morning person", per se, but I'm pretty goal driven, so if I have a reason to get up, I can get up. That being said, having a reason to get up that actually excites me is totally different than having a reason to get up that stresses me out or depresses me.

I used to get up early because I was driven by the stress of everything that I had to get done in my day (my to-do list was haunting me!), but now, I'm driven by the excitement of what I actually get to do in the mornings. This has been a huge mental shift for me.

My time management guru, Laura Vanderkam, has an entire e-book entitled What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, where she talks about just this--seizing the day (literally) by focusing on what's important to you in the mornings--before you get lost in your day. She explains that it's rare that something comes up in the morning; Work emergencies usually don't happen before 7am (unless you work at a yoga studio with AM classes, like yours truly...), you still have energy to exercise, and your creative abilities haven't yet been zapped by all of the details of daily life. So why not start using the mornings in a more productive way?

When I say productive, I don't mean get up and start working, I mean do whatever it is that you want to ensure you actually do that day. For instance, I wake up at 6am, stretch, make my tea, and then start writing. Whether I'm working on a blog post, a story, an e-course, or something else, writing has become increasingly important to me over the years, and I like to start my day by doing it. By starting my day in this way, I'm excited about getting up. I feel like I have so much to say, and the mornings are my time to find a way to say it, so I want get up and start writing.

Some people find that the mornings are a great time to practice yoga or exercise (especially if you find that your evening exercise often gets neglected due to work, exhaustion, kids, long commutes, etc.), meditate, do something creative, go on a walk, spend time with kids, or do strategic thinking about your life and goals. Vanderkam explains how you can incorporate these things into your morning routine in this article, where she notes that streamlining your mornings can open up a lot of extra time in your week.

I know this sounds difficult, but you guys, I promise it's not that hard to make this shift. The hardest part is going to bed earlier at night (Ben and I now get in bed at 9:30 to read!), but if you weigh your options of puttering around on the internet, answering emails, watching TV, versus waking up early to do something that's really important to you, it becomes much easier to put down the remote control and hit the sack.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, before you even brush your teeth? Is it checking the e-mail that’s flooded into your inbox overnight? Does the pull feel increasingly irresistible, even Pavlovian? Do you get so immersed in responding to other people’s agendas that 30 minutes can go by before you even look up?Here’s a radical proposal: Don’t check your e-mail at all tomorrow morning. Turn it off entirely. Instead, devote a designated period of uninterrupted time to a task that really matters.His article goes on to say something very similar to what Vanderkam talks about in her book--mornings matter, they count, they aren't just throwaway time, they're a very important part of your day where you can really get something important done. I would argue that mornings might be the most critical part of your day, and how they're spent can totally change the tone of your life.

So here's my challenge to you: Start to take a look at your mornings. Notice what you do in the morning for the next couple of days. Think about what you don't have time for in your life, but really want to be doing, and whether or not you could fit that activity or project into your mornings. If you can, congrats! You just found an extra 2.5-5 hours in your week. Doesn't that sound fabulous?

Imagine all that you could create, do, enjoy, feel, experience, and accomplish in that time! It's how I have the time to write this blog, you know... ;)

Most days I try to get up at 6am to write/yoga/meditate (otherwise I would get up at 7h30 to get myself and my kids ready)... But yoga at 6am is so hard, my body is totally inflexible in the morning...

Mary Catherine

5/23/2013 11:08:58 pm

I totally feel you on this, Rita! I often wait until a little later in the morning to practice yoga, just so that my body is a bit more open.

But I'm so glad to hear that you already wake up early and do this! I think it's SO important.

Thanks for mentioning my book! People don't stick with unpleasant things for long -- if you want a morning routine that sticks, you're right: it's got to be something you *want* to do. Good luck with it!

Mary Catherine

5/23/2013 11:09:41 pm

Thanks so much, Laura! You're full of SUCH good advice (as always)! xoxo

My girlfriend sent me this blog post recently, and I 100% agree with it. The problem is that waking up early has always been a lifelong struggle for me. It sounds a bit silly and it's not really something I can explain well, but I have never been a morning person. I really, really want to be, though. And you hit the nail on the head when you mention that waking up because you <i>have</i> to is completely different from waking up because you <i>want</i> to. In theory, I'd love to wake up at 6, make an amazing breakfast every morning, meditate, do a 30-minute workout, go for a walk....all those things. But instead, I set my morning alarm to -- quite literally -- the last possible second I can in order to not be late for work. It sets the tone for the rest of the day - I feel rushed and overwhelmed. I don't think I'm alone, I'd venture to say that most people are like that!

Anyway, not gonna rant, but reading this post has inspired me to just keep trying. Maybe I'll get there one day.

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